1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to roll stock winding and unwinding as well as wire fence erecting implements. More particularly, the invention relates to an attachment for affixing to a vehicle to facilitate the reeling and unreeling of fencing, barbed wire or related materials.
2. Background
Devices for attachment onto vehicles to assist in reeling and unreeling wire and fencing materials are known. Examples of such devices can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,914,270 to Parker et al. for a "Vehicle Attached Wire Stretching and Reeling Device"; U.S. Pat. No. 3,048,348 to Griffin for a "Wire Fencing Stringing and Stretching Implement"; U.S. Pat. No. 3,934,655 to Whistle for a "Hydraulic Post Setting and Wire Dispensing Apparatus"; U.S. Pat. No. 2,839,257 to Chicane for a "Wire Reel"; U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,114 to Farnsworth for a "Fencing Wire Unwinder and Tensioner"; U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,435 to Linklater for an "Apparatus for Winding and Unwinding Wire"; U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,718 to Lancour et al. for a "Fencing Dispenser"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,634 to Moon et al. for a "Fence Stretching Apparatus"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,782 to King for an "Apparatus for Winding Fence Material".
The above-mentioned Chicane, Farnsworth, and Whistle patents describe attachments which are capable of unwinding one or more reels of wire. However, these devices are not designed to deliver woven wire fencing materials.
The inventions described in the above mentioned patents to Parker et al., Griffin, Lancour et al., Moon et al. and King are designed to unroll reels of woven wire fencing material. However, King does not allow the fencing material to be unreeled from a vertical orientation; therefore, the fencing material has to be lifted in a separate step to utilize it for fencing purposes. The King, Parker et al., Lancour et al. and Moon et al. devices do not allow for the unreeling of individual strands of wire such as would be necessary in the construction of a barbed wire fence. The Griffin device does provide for the addition of a single spool of barbed wire to be unreeled simultaneously with the reel of fencing material.
Of the patents discussed above, only the Parker et al. and Lancour et al. patents describe attachments which allow for the tilting of the apparatus necessary for ease of loading the device with a reel of fencing material. The Parker et al. device provides a means for lowering a spindle for insertion through the center of a reel of fencing material. However, the Parker et al. device requires that the lift arms of a three-point hitch of a tractor be used to raise and lower the spindle. Additionally, for the Parker et al. device to raise a loaded reel of wire, the user must utilize the lift arms and move the tractor forward to physically force the device to pivot upwardly.
The Lancour et al. patent describes a fencing dispenser wherein a reel of fencing material is placed within a cage-like structure. The cage is lowered by means of a hydraulic cylinder. The hydraulic cylinder is used to pivot the cage in a plane perpendicular to the tractor. The reel of fencing material can then be rolled into the cage. The Lancour et al. device does not have a spindle to support the fencing reel but instead allows the reel to move freely within the cage.
Hence, there is a need for a reeling and unreeling device which allows the apparatus to be connected to either a three-point hitch of a tractor or a drop hitch of the type typically found on a pickup truck. Additionally, there is a need for a device which allows the unreeling of either a reel of fencing material, a plurality of barbed wire strands, or any combination of various widths of fencing material together with barbed wire strands. Finally, there is a need for a device which possesses means for lowering the reeling rod or spindle to increase the ease of loading the device while mounted on a stationary vehicle.